They were both in the science club and the band, neither of them was popular nor had access to any of the popular cliques. But they were the kind that didn’t care too much about that as long as they kept clear of the school bullies.

Ron still had problems with them at times because being of just less than average height, thin and unathletic, wearing glasses that were a little too thick, and perhaps a few steps too far from their aggressive male stereotype. He made a good target. Alicia didn’t seem to mind the teasing she faced, however. She had a pleasant face, dark blond hair that curled naturally but just a little too much to manage and was what a polite adult would call “heavy set.” 

Those things didn’t matter much to Ron. Alicia seemed to kind of like him in her quiet way, or maybe it was just that because both were social castoffs, he was easy to approach. In any case, when the science club was on a field trip to a big teaching hospital in the city, they sat together on the bus and slipped into an easy and interesting conversation. She was in the club because she said she had been planning on going to medical school. It was always her parents dream for her, and she wanted to make them proud. Ron confessed that he was just interested in science and had no clue what he wanted to do for a living.

As they went deeper into the bowels of the huge facility, he noticed that her expression drifted from its original enthusiastic interest to something else. Her brow furrowed and there was little color in her face. Like him, she was lagging near the back of the small group. The actual sights and smells of healthcare in action were something that never appealed to him. By chance, she was beside him when they were in the hematology department. The technician opened the door to a huge, stainless steel refrigerator revealing rows and rows of labeled packets of whole blood. He heard her inhale abruptly and saw her knees begin to buckle. She grabbed his arm and Ron reached around with his other hand to keep her from falling. It took all his strength, but he kept her upright. She steadied herself, keeping her hand lightly on his arm for a few more moments. “Sorry,” she whispered. Her face, if anything, was even more pale and he noticed that, through his thin shirt, her hand was cold and damp on his arm. Through the rest of the tour, she stayed near him but at a distance that told him she didn’t want to talk.

They sat together on the bus on the way back, a few rows of seats behind everyone else. 

“I never knew that hospitals would be so depressing.” She had loved the idea of helping people, but hadn’t considered what it involves or would feel like if she couldn’t. Somewhere along the way in the tour, after the incident at the blood bank, she had the thought of the blood coming from one of her patients whose life was in her hands. Even without the blood, that kind of responsibility overwhelmed her. And there was something about just the feeling of being in a hospital was absolutely oppressive for her. 

The admission touched something in him. In school, he felt surrounded by people who were always trying to show the best of themselves. He and his few close friends rarely if ever talked about their feelings. By confiding in him, Alicia opened up the door to a kind of friendship Ron had never experienced. Still, as usual, he was completely unsure of himself.

Though he had the idea earlier he waited until the trip back was nearly over to ask. If she refused, it would be less uncomfortable that way. But he steeled himself to do it. He wouldn’t let himself chicken out. When the bus came to a stop in the school’s front driveway, he turned to her. “Um, would you like to go out sometime? To a movie or something?”

She seemed surprised and a little confused, but then happy. She told him that she’d like to but would have to ask her parents. Dating was kind of new to them both.

The following Saturday, his car, a slightly dented Toyota Camry, which had been passed down from his father to his mother to him, felt out of place in the expensive neighborhood of wide lawns and large houses that dotted the rich side of an otherwise lower-middle-class town. Her address led him to one of the largest ones on her street, white, colonial style with actual doric columns flanking the front door. The driveway looped through the spacious front yard. He drove in parked by the door.

He could hear a series of melodic chimes when he pressed the doorbell. They were followed by the efficient tick-tick-tick of high heels. It was her mother who answered the door. Mrs. Weathersfield was an attractive and well-kept woman, in a casual but stylish skirt and blouse, as well as the high heels. When he left to drive over here, his mother was in slippers and a housecoat, his father still at work putting in overtime at the shop. 

“Oh, you must be Ron! I’m Alicia’s mom. We’ve heard a lot about you! Please come in!” There was a certain energy in just about every sentence she said. “She’ll be coming down in a few minutes,” she added as they passed a stairway wide enough for the grandest of entrances. Mrs. Weathersfield led him to the large, elegantly furnished living room that looked a little too perfect to live in but rather a place to greet guests and house posh gatherings. She invited him to sit down on a gorgeous but not especially comfortable couch. 

When he looked around the room, the word “opulent” came to him. On the walls were large pieces of art, most modern, original and expensive. Most prominently positioned was formal portrait of the family, likely several years old. Alicia looked to be still in grade school, a little more rounded than she was now and smiling for the camera with some effort. Her parents looked elegant. Though they were all sitting close together in a blue Louis XV-style couch, Alicia seemed to him to be in the wrong picture. Over the fireplace was a wide oval mirror with an ornate gilt frame reflecting the room with a fisheye effect making it seem even larger, though rather comically distorted. Scattered around on tables and pedestals were carvings and other forms of indigenous art, most from Africa, others possibly from South American jungles. On a less prominent section of wall hung an elaborately woven Navajo rug. There was a lot to take in.

Soon after he was seated, Alicia’s father made an entrance. He was tall, older, tanned and handsome with the first streaks of grey at the temples of his perfect hair. Ron rose and put out his hand to greet him. His handshake was enthusiastic and a little too firm for comfort.

“Well, we finally get a chance to meet you! Alicia has been telling us about you. So, you know each other from the science club?”

“Yes, and the band. I play trumpet.”

“What kind of science are you interested in?”

“Mostly physics. I think I want to be an engineer.”

“Great! A growing field. A good future. Alica’s decided on pre-med. She’ll be a great doctor and I’m reasonably certain I can get her into Harvard, she’ll…”

“Sorry I kept you waiting,” Alicia’s voice came from behind him. She was a bit over-dressed for a dinner and a movie, had taken some pains with a tasteful application of makeup, though he never saw her wearing any at school. She looked so nice that he couldn’t help wondering if the girl he talked to on the bus was still there under all that finery. As they left, her mother wished them a good time and her father provided a gentle reminder to be home by eleven. 

When they were in the car, he felt it was on him to say something, but he didn’t know quite what. “Nice house. And it was nice meeting your parents.”

“They’re okay. I hope my dad didn’t grill you too much. He can be like that sometimes.”

“No. He mostly talked about you.” He didn’t go into details and Alica was quiet for a while as they drove off. With her silence, he realized that he suddenly found some insight into her life.

“He always expects a lot of me,” she added after a while.

“It’s okay. I understand.” Ron didn’t know where those words came from, but they were true. 

The silence that followed was of a kind neither had known before, but it felt quite special to both of them.